Passing Out
by She-Elf23
Summary: During training in boot camp, Steve has the unfortunate experience of passing out in front of his whole platoon...and Agent Carter. (Hints of Peggy/Steve)


_Characters are not mine, Marvel gets all the credit. Long live Peggy and Steve._

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"Rogers! Keep up!"

Steve forced his head to look up towards his drill sergeant at the front of his platoon. The man hadn't even looked back at him to check on him. It was a given that scrawny Steve would be behind. The nearest recruit at the back of the group was at least 20 feet away from him and striding easily with a rhythmic gate. Man, how he wished he could run like that. Wheezing painfully, Steve mustered up a small boost of strength to push his legs another step. Yep. The boost ended there. He fell back into his rather pathetic pattern of a run: step, wheeze, slouch, gasp, repeat. Steve let his head drop back down in exhaustion. It took too much effort to look up. Besides, the hot sun was making him squint so bad he could hardly see where he was going. At least by looking down he could watch the path and follow the enormous, solid footprints left by his fellow recruits….and also the sweat could more easily drip off of his forehead when he kept his head down instead of running down into his eyes, making them sting.

Steve tried to distract himself as he ran because it made the task less painful. He wondered at how just watching dry dirt pass underneath your feet (slowly mind you) could make your mouth dry up in a matter of seconds. He wondered if the food that had been served at breakfast had been any good. He wouldn't know since (as usual) he was made to shower last, but for some reason today he just hadn't made it to the mess tent in time to get food. According to the cook they had run out, but Steve hadn't missed the ten bucks sticking out of the cook's pocket nor Hodge and the other guys at a nearby table trying not so hard to stifle their laughter. He had let it go today (what else could he do?), but he hoped this wouldn't become a regular prank as his stomach twisted hungrily at the thought of food. Steve shook his head and thought of other things to distract himself. He thought of Brooklyn and what a normal day would look like there. He thought of Bucky and wished his friend could be with him right here right now. He thought of Agent Carter and wondered what she would look like in civilian clothes.

_"__Stop it, Steve,"_ Steve chided himself and pushed himself harder for a few more steps as punishment. "It's neither right nor respectful to daydream about a lady like that." With that last thought in his head, Steve ran straight into the back of one of his platoon mates. The hard shove against his shoulder to push him away let him know they had stopped. Steve tumbled backwards but luckily didn't fall to the ground. He allowed himself to bend over and lean on his knees to catch his breath and his balance. He shakily pushed up the rim of his too large helmet to see where he was. They had made it back to base camp and the rest of the recruits had already taken off their gear to prepare for their daily exercises. Exercises. That was the _last_ thing Steve wanted to do, but his determination to become a soldier like everyone else fueled him to shrug off his backpack and unhook his utility belt.

"Recruits! Attention!" The men jumped to obey at Agent Carter's sharp tone and quickly fell into formation. Steve hastily tugged his helmet off and joined the line. If Agent Carter had seen his lateness, she let it slide. For that Steve was grateful. He tried to catch his breath before she started ordering the first exercise, but the tightness in his chest never abated. Crunches, hustling, knee-lifts, stretches, push-ups….the list never seemed to end. Steve felt his head swoon with lightheadedness as he strained himself to do a third push-up while everyone else was in between their 23rd or 24th. He dizzily watched Agent Carter's boots waver and tilt in front of his face as she strode past him between the ranks. Sounds started to become distant and fuzzy. He luckily heard her sharp whistle and command for jumping jacks. Fighting the sense of vertigo he felt, Steve pushed himself to his feet and obeyed. He had made 5 jumping jacks—rather sloppy ones today—before his lightheadedness overwhelmed him. The heat from the noonday sun on the back of his neck was sweltering. His head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton as well as his ears. His vision suddenly tunneled and before he realized it, he was falling. Steve thought he maybe had heard a shout before his body collapsed harshly and ungracefully on the hard ground, his head hitting with an internal reverberating pound. The sensation overwhelmed him, and he passed out in front of his entire platoon in the middle of the camp.

Steve sort of came around a few seconds later, but the nauseous feeling swelled up again, his hearing was still clogged, and his vision remained limited. He found himself staring at the sky but then his eyes rolled elsewhere involuntarily. Somehow, he managed to recognize the face of the Colonel above him. The man had a serious look on his face, but it was mixed with annoyance and a sort of arrogance that said "I told you so" to anyone who didn't agree with him. He must have said something because Steve saw his mouth move, the elder man's face turned towards someone just behind Steve's head. It was then that Steve realized his head wasn't lying on the hard ground anymore but on something soft and much more comfortable. It wasn't until he heard the muddled sound of a British accent that he realized who was behind him…or actually underneath him. Steve more than willingly let the nausea overtake him and closed his eyes to pass out again. He figured it was the best way to escape his own embarrassment at the moment. Maybe it was a good thing Bucky wasn't here to see this after all.

* * *

The next time Steve woke he was in a rather familiar cot. It was one of the beds in the medical tent. He had of course been there before….it was becoming almost like a summer home to him. Steve sighed in despondence as he remembered what had landed him here (this time) before turning his head to see who all was in the tent. The pain that shot up the right side of his head made him wince and immediately stop. He groaned and squinted his eyes before carefully raising his hand to his head. A nice bump was already beginning to swell in the area where he had hit the ground. Despite the pain and the nausea that was beginning to come from it, Steve forced himself to sit up.

"No, no! Wait, what are you doing? Lie back down there," came a familiar, particularly German accent. Strong, caring hands gently pushed him back down on the bed. Steve winced again at the waves of pain and didn't open his eyes until it had subsided a little. He was careful this time to just move his eyes and not his neck to look at the older man standing beside him.

"How long have I been out?" Steve asked.

"Oh, not long. Maybe a half hour or so. You have quite the goose-egg there," commented Dr. Erskine as he lowered himself onto the cot beside Steve's.

"Yeah, I noticed," Steve smiled grimly. "What are you doing here? You don't work here in the medical tent."

"Oh, I am not really working. You can just count me as a visitor," Erskine smiled back and patted the younger man's shoulder. "I was on the grounds when I heard the commotion that you made. I came up just as you passed out again." The doctor then peered over his wide glasses and glanced over Steve. "So, what was it that made you faint?"

Steve laughed a little until he realized that made his head pound again. "Take a guess and you'd probably win," he joked but then sort of shrugged. "I think it was just the heat. And I also didn't eat anything for breakfast."

"Why not? I hear the food is not that bad here."

"Eh, well…let's just say that ten bucks suddenly made all the waffles disappear." Erskine wasn't stupid and didn't need to ask for an explanation.

"I'll be sure to mention something to the Colonel," he nodded in assurance. Steve just kind of shook his head.

"I figure they probably won't do it again. If I can give them credit for anything at least they're creative. They'll come up with something new. I could have pushed it but didn't want to be a bother this morning." Steve sort of smirked as he realized what he just said. "Guess I became a bother anyways, didn't I?"

"I would never call you a 'bother', Steve. But next time let's just make sure we get something in the tummy, yes?" smiled Erskine and playfully tapped the young man's slender abdomen. Steve couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, sir," he promised.

"Doctor?" Dr. Erskine turned his body to look at who had called his name behind him, but both he and Steve knew who it was.

"Yes, Agent Carter?"

"Colonel Phillips has some details to discuss with you while you are here," Agent Carter stated as she drew closer to the cots. She was speaking to the doctor, but her eyes were glancing at Steve.

"And, um…what is the forecast for today?" asked the doctor as he leaned forward on the cot and pushed against it to stand up.

"I would say a strong probability of annoyance with a slight chance of smart remarks," smirked the agent. "In other words, your usual." Dr. Erskine sighed but nodded in thanks. He turned back to Steve before leaving.

"Just take it easy here for a few hours. Then you can go back to your bunk and be done for the day. Try to stay out of the heat and be sure to get some food in your belly," he prescribed and patted Steve's shoulder in a friendly manner. He nodded again towards Agent Carter before moving past her to attend to the Colonel's summons.

Steve expected the agent to leave as well and was a bit surprised when she sort of looked shy and unsure of what to do with herself for the briefest second. She finally decided to sit down in Erskine's place. "How do you feel?" she asked conversationally. Steve swallowed his embarrassment and awkwardness in order to respond.

"Oh, I, uh…better than before," was all he could come up with and wasn't sure where to look. Straight into her eyes was too forward but anywhere else seemed rude so he settled on her face in general. He wasn't sure he had ever really seen her this close-up before. He was suddenly grateful that he was already lying down because if he had been standing he might have gotten another bump on his head to match the first one. Gosh, she was beautiful.

"You gave everyone a bit of a fright there," she smiled and smoothed her uniform pants, a habit from usually wearing skirts.

"Everyone?" Steve couldn't help but ask. He certainly couldn't imagine the rest of the boys being worried.

"Well, you managed to stop the exercise regime for the day. The Colonel sort of got frustrated with the way the others just stupidly stood around and did nothing. He sent them all back to the barracks," she explained.

"Well, that's a nice break," commented Steve, kind of wishing that luck would befall on him on a day when he wasn't the cause of it.

"Not really. He put them all on cleaning duty," Agent Carter smirked. Steve quietly laughed. He should have known the Colonel wasn't quite that generous. Steve couldn't think of anything else to say (what do you talk about with a female superior?) so he kept silent. She spoke again to fill the silence. "Dr. Erskine said something about you needing food? Did you not eat this morning?" she asked with a maternal tone that Steve never would have expected from her.

"Uh, let's just say long story short: no," he admitted with a raised eyebrow and looked away in sort of embarrassment. Agent Carter then stood and rubbed her hands down the sides of her hips out of a misplaced habit again.

"In that case, I will look into procuring some food for you. I'm sure the cook won't mind," she stated with a tone of authority that convinced Steve that the cook wouldn't mind by way of no choice. As he watched her walk away, a black knee-length, plaid A-frame skirt and a red three-quarter length sweater came to mind. Steve pinched his eyes shut to stop himself.

_"__Darn it, Steve!"_

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_Thanks for reading! If you have a minute to spare, I'd love to read a review or two. :)_


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